|
|
Whose Burden Is Light and Easy? |
Matthew 11: 28 - 30 |
This is another sermon from my series on the most familar sayings of Jesus. I set out to select and preach on the most "common" texts as a way to more or less undermine their familiarity, to underscore the fact that the beautiful words held within them some hard ideas or truths. I don't know if I succeeded in doing that, of course, but this was a popular group of sermons in the congregation and on the radio. This particular one in the group was not an easy sermon to prepare or preach, however. One of the things I have learned about preaching without notes is that most preachers assume that easy sermons can probably be preached without notes, but that the more difficult, or complicated, a sermon is the more it is needs to be written out and read to a congregation. Actually, the exact opposite of that is the case. The more difficult and complex the subject or material of the sermon, the more important it is that it be well planned and outlined and preached without manuscript or notes. When things are hard to explain or grasp, that's when the preacher needs to speak directly from his or her planned thoughts about the subject. Reading that sermon only ensures that the difficult subject will not only not be understood, but not even heard. This is a sermon in which I really became aware of that. Listen to it. You will see what I mean. |